MCA 21 Project and Important Guidelines for e-filing

[Submitted by Mr. S. Narayanaswamy,
M.Com. AICWA. ACS
Chennai]

May 20, 2006

Introduction to the MCA 21 Project

The MCA 21 project, is an ambitious, e - governance initiative, visionary in nature, for fulfilling the aspirations of corporates, Banks, Financial Institutions, corporate lenders, investors, government regulatory agencies, professionals, and other stake holders in the 21st century. This project will change the administration of Company Law, by the Registrar of Companies, and other offices of the Ministry of Company Affairs.

There will be a change from the traditional paper based system to paperless environment to administer the corporate law compliance. The delivery of government services will be improved systematically, to all the stake holders and also substantial cost reduction can be effected to administer the rules and regulations.

There are about 7,20,000 registered companies spread throughout the country. On 18.2.2006 the Ministry has launched its portal www.mca.gov.in at Coimbatore, Registrar of Companies office as a pilot project. The MCA 21 project has been formally launched at New Delhi, on 18.03.2006, by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

This portal is expected to facilitate e filing, on line inspection of company documents and requisition of certified copies.

MCA 21 e-governance project is in the process of implementation at various stages. The following are the general guidelines for the stake holders of this prestigious project.

1. Please verify your Company Master data. This is a time bound action to be done by the company representative or by the assisting professional concerned. The Ministry proposes to carryout the corrections by 30th June, 2006. The companies information given in the Master data, are to be printed and checked by the Company representative or by the assisting professional. Any corrections to be made in the Company Master data are to be intimated with necessary proof with the concerned ROC office, and follow up the same. The Ministry has scanned and digitized all the permanent records and also Annual Returns and Balance Sheets for the latest two years in respect of all active companies.
    
2. All stake holders are required to register themselves with the MCA PORTAL. Registration is free of cost. A simply registered user can also view the public documents on payment of prescribed fees. A Business user and/or a professional user shall require a Digital Signature Certificate and his access rights are different.
    
3. New e forms and fees:
    
   The Ministry has also notified the new e forms and fees payable against each e forms filed. It has also introduced various new forms, changes made in various existing forms, and also done away with some old forms such as Form 13, Form 29 etc. with effect from 01.03.2006.
    
   It has introduced new forms such as FORM 23 AC for filing of Balance Sheets and Profit and Loss Accounts, FORM 62, for filing Return of Deposits and Compliance Certificate u/s 383A.
    
   Various new fields have been incorporated in the new e forms. Hence the professionals have be very careful in filling up the complete data in the e forms.
    
   It has also revised various e forms subsequently, and notified the same in its site. The following main forms have under gone some changes after the date of its first release. FORM 1, FORM 1A, FORM 1 B, FORM 2, FORM 32, FORM 18, FORM 5, FORM 8, FORM 17, FORM 20 B, FORM 23 AC, FORM 25C
    
4. Please verify the index of charges in respect of the company you are representing. Kindly take all the details of the charges as per the records made available for MCA 21 project implementing team. A separate charge number is given by the MCA 21 project team. This number is to be quoted in the future in the FORM 8 and FORM 17 while modifying the charge or satisfying the charge respectively for effecting the transactions successfully. The Ministry has scanned and digitized all the subsisting charge documents. The Index of such charges are made available for viewing without any charge.. There may be lot of charges that would have already been satisfied and the same may be shown as existing charges. And there could be lot of charges that would have got modified during the course of the period of the charges. Please approach the concerned ROC office or at the facilitation centre with the full details of charges existing and the corrections proposed in the charges and in the Index of Charges.
    
5. Apply for Director Identification Number (DIN) though internet facilities in the MCA 21 portal. All the existing directors and the proposed to be directors, shall have to obtain a DIN number, by filling the required details in the DIN Application Form. Applying for a second DIN number is prohibited. After Filling up the DIN application form, and obtaining a provisional DIN number,( generated automatically by the system) the DIN Application form shall be sent to Regional Director's office at Noida by courier or by registered post with the required identity proof and address proof. The certified copies of the following documents are to be sent to MCA DIN CELL at Noida.
    
   PAN CARD
   RATION CARD
   PASSPORT with address
   DRIVING LICENCE
   Latest Telephone Bill.
    
   The Ministry is not charging any separate fees for giving the DIN Number. After receiving the DIN number the concerned Director shall also intimate to the companies about his DIN number. On receipt of such DIN number particulars from the Director concerned, the Company also intimate to the respective ROCs about the details of DIN Number of its directors.
    
   The Companies (Amendment) Bill 2006, has already been passed by the Parliament and as the provisions of the said bill obtaining and quoting DIN number in the e forms filed with the ROCs are mandatory. Further non obtaining and non quoting of DIN numbers are also liable for punishment.
    
6. Procure Digital Signature Certificates (DSCs) on or before 30th June 2006.  
   All the e forms are to be filed by using the DSCs. The Company Directors and other company representatives who are signing the eforms are required to obtain DSCs to enable e -filing. A class 2 DSC is a mandatory requirement for this purpose.
    
   The DSCs are given by the authorized certification agencies. The DSCs are given for one or two years period only. The Certifying agencies are also levying a charge for issue of DSCs. The professional who is attesting the e -forms shall also obtain a DSC. This is also a pre-requisite in the MCA 21 system.
    
7. Banks/Financial Institutions and other corporate lending agencies are also required to obtain a class 2 DSC for its authorized officials, to sign the FORM 8 and FORM 17, and file the same with the Registrar of Companies. Filing of Form No. 13 has been done away with. The Ministry proposes not to accept any documents after 30th June 2006 with out a valid DSC for the officials of the corporate lenders also.
    
8. The ministry is in the process of setting up 53 facilitation centres throughout the country. These facilitation centres are accepting documents physically filed by the corporates. The Ministry has requested the corporates and their assisting professionals, to bring soft copies of e-forms along with the manually signed copies, and also the soft copies of attachments.
    
9. While filing any ROC forms physically, at the Facilitation centres, a declaration should also be given by the authorized company representative regarding e Filing using the Digital Signature Certificate of ROC official/ Facilitation Centre staff.
    
10. The Ministry has also taken necessary initiatives for the implementation of Certified Filng Center for e -forms. The ministry has permitted the practicing members of the 3 professional institute to register and operate as a certified filng centre of e -forms. It has given the following as the pre requisite conditions.
     
    Minimum Office Space Required
     
    200 Sq.ft
     
    Hardware requirement
     
    Minimum 2 Pentium - IV, computers, with Colour Monitors, USB ports, Floppy Disk Drive, and CD writer
    Deskjet or Laser printers
    Minimum one scanner
     
    Minimum Software requirement
     
    Windows 2000/Windows XP
    Adobe reader 7.0.5
    PDF Converter
    Anti virus software
    Internet Explorer version 6.0 and above
    Java Run Time Environment
    Digital Signature
    Minimum one trained staff is also required.
     
11. The ROC fees and other statutory fees shall be paid in electronic mode.
     
    Though MCA 21 System also accepts conventional payment mode, it is suggested to make the payment through electronic mode, which is faster and safer too. On line payments through internet banking and credit cards are accepted by the system. This will facilitate faster processing of documents by the MCA employees and officers. The Ministry has tied up with 200 branches of State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Indian Bank, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank for making payments through Challan based system. For online payment the Payment Gateway of ICICI Bank has also been authorized.
     
12. Certification of e -forms.
     
    FORM Nos. 2, 3, 5, 8,10,17, 18, 23, 24AB, and 32 are to be pre certified by Practising Chartered Accountants/Company Secretaries/Cost Accountants. For pre certifying the e forms the practicing professional has to obtain a class 2 digital signature.

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